Archive for the '2011 Features' Category

Anyone that uses MrSID image files in their Map3D or Civil 3D know that you need to install the Raster Design Object Enabler or Raster Design installed to insert them with the Map image insert command. Problem is right now there is no Raster Design OE for the 2011 versions. However thanks to a geeky customer there is a work around.

The first step is you need a working version of an AutoCAD 2010 installed on your workstation. This can be Map3D, Civil 3D, Standard AutoCAD of the vanilla favor or even the water down application named TrueView. Now if you are running on a 64bit OS I was told you can skip the 2010 products but with a 32 bit OS you need one of those install.

Next download and install the 2010 version of the Raster Design OE. Located here http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=DL13023431. A reminder you need administrator rights to install it and follow the standards to install any of AutoCAD applications, in other words shut down any apps you have running and shut down you anti-virus software for the installs.

The next step is you need to open the windows registry. To do this the simple way is from the START button > Run and type in regedit for the “open” then click the OK button. Now a disclaimer, if you don’t feel comfortable working with the registry then call some that does. Do not blame the Murph if your PC starts to act up later because you messed up the registry.

With the registry open navigate/browse to the

“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R18.0\AdImaging”

key. Select it, right click, and select Export. Save the exported registry key to a folder that you can get to, the name for it can be any name of your choice (provide you follow the naming convections enforced by Microsoft).

Now browse to the folder you saved the exported key to and open it in a text editor (Notepad works best). With the file open edit the first line (not the top header line) so it reads as

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R18.1\AdImaging]

Just change theR18.0 to read R18.1. Save the file and close it.

Next step is to double click on the file in Windows Explorer. This will import the registry key into the registry. If you get the Warning Message / Registry Editor

just click the OK button.

Now if everything worked you should be able to open up Map3D or Civil 3D 2011 and use the Mapiinsert to insert a MrSID format image into you projects like you could before.

NOW A BIGGER DISCLAIMER(s):

First this is a hack to get the SID files in the 2011 versions, it is not supported by Autodesk so if something goes wrong don’t expect help from your support team. Second anyone that knows what all those numbers mean in the registry will see that the imported registry key is for the 2011 version but still points to 2010 Raster Design OE, if you try to install the supported version of Raster Design OE when it gets released you may get the message saying it is already installed. You may have to delete that key for the official supported version to install and work properly .

In case you have not heard, the newest version of AutoCAD MAP 3D has been released. By now all subscription members should have it available for download from their subscription site. For those that have not or have not had a chance to install and dig around with it I will show a few of new features.

The Grid and Graticules feature allows you to create a grid references system in paper space. It uses the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) and updates as the model space changes.

You need to assign a coordinate system to your map before using it but once you create the grid you can edit the labels, they are plain mtext objects so if you need to use large text for certain labels you can. The grid also works with map books to use it just create the grid in your map book layout template file.

Speaking of grids and coordinate systems the new version of Map 3D now allows you to track coordinates in multiple coordinates systems. So your map can be in State Plane and you can see what a point or location is in Lat/Lon or any other coordinate system to include the MGRS.

For those that installed the Subscription Advantage Packs for 2010 you know about the LiDAR features. They in 2011 and work the same way as before. The only differences the commands are now on the insert tab of the ribbon. Once you create an index you can add the point cloud to create a surface or filter by classification.

The other thing that is new to AutoCAD MAP 3D are the FDO Providers for SQLite and POSTgreSQL databases. Both of those database are free open source and work great for the users wanting to get into data stores and spatial databases.

Now for power users of Map3D the Workflow Designer has more activities to add to your workflows. When it was introduced last year it had limited activities now there a good number to select from to include standard AutoCAD commands that means you can now use lisp routines as part of the workflows. If you can type the command on the command line then you can put it in your workflow.

So that’s the new stuff in AutoCAD MAP 3D and you may of seen them already, BUT……… what about some standard AutoCAD core features. Things we can use in Map3D. How often have you wanted to create some parcel maps and have an image under them. You always had to leave the polygons unhatched or use some dots hatch patterns then scale the dots up to appear as transparent or you used FDO. Now anymore, you now have a transparency control for layers and hatch. So if you want to work with standard AutoCAD polygons to theme on your data you now have the same features that FDO stylization does.

The Before Look

The After Look with 2011

You also have an option to set a background color to any hatch that is not solid. Now the one thing is the Map Polygon (mpolygon) fill options do not have the same properties or allow a background color. Maybe next year we will have that. Just beware the hatch interface is all on the ribbon now. You can open up the hatch dialog by entering Ton the command line but once you get used to the new interface you may not want to waste the real estate for the big bulky dialog. Give it a few test runs and see how you like it. The other AutoCAD feature we now have is the select similar command. Now using that you need to type in the command “SELECTSIMILAR” unless someone else finds it on the ribbon or add the command to one of your existing ribbon panels.

As time goes by I’ll blog a little more on each new feature but that’s the run down on the new 2011 version of AutoCAD MAP 3D.